- Courts 2
- Judge Says Evidence Linking Roundup To Cancer Is 'Rather Weak' But Allows Victims To Use Experts' Testimony
- Judge Chastises Government For Missing Deadline To Reunite Separated Families: These 'Are Not Aspirational Goals'
- Pharmaceuticals 1
- As California Drug Cost Transparency Law Goes Into Effect, Pharma Companies Cancel, Reduce Planned Increases
- Health Care Personnel 1
- Rising Retirement Levels, Burnout Contributing To California's Growing Shortage Of Mental Health Professionals
- Public Health and Education 1
- Cancer Mortality Rates Would Plummet More Than 20 Percent If Everyone Had Access To Quality Care
- Around California 1
- Hate Crimes Continue To Increase In California, With More Than Half Involving Racial Bias
- National Roundup 5
- Administration Cuts Grants Again To Health Law Navigators Arguing They're Ineffective And Unnecessary
- Kavanaugh's Impact On Elections Highlights The Two Very Different Fights Happening For House And Senate
- Beyond Abortion: Democrats' Focus On Kavanaugh's Threat To Health Law To Protect Red-State Candidates
- Nominee For VA Secretary Chief Sails Through Committee And Is Headed For Full Senate Confirmation
- Pfizer To Temporarily Roll Back Drug Price Increases Following Talk With Trump
Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
California Clinic Screens Asylum Seekers For Honesty
As new federal policies make it harder to gain asylum in the U.S., foreign applicants try to improve their chances by having doctors evaluate their conditions — perhaps bolstering their stories of torture and violent persecution back home. (Anna Gorman, )
More News From Across The State
The lawsuits say agrochemical giant Monsanto, which makes Roundup, long knew about the cancer risk but failed to warn people.
The Associated Press:
Lawsuits Alleging Roundup Caused Cancer Can Move Forward
Hundreds of lawsuits alleging Roundup weed killer caused cancer cleared a big hurdle Tuesday when a U.S. judge ruled that cancer victims and their families could present expert testimony linking the herbicide to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria said evidence that the active ingredient in Roundup — glyphosate — can cause the disease seemed "rather weak." Still, the opinions of three experts linking glyphosate and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were not "junk science" that should be excluded from a trial, the judge ruled. (7/10)
Government officials defended the process, pointing to safety concerns as to why it shouldn't be rushed. Meanwhile, as the reunions slowly begin, there's relief, joy and heartbreak as some children don't recognize their parents.
The Associated Press:
Government Falls Short Of Deadline To Reunite Kids, Parents
Some immigrant toddlers are back in the arms of their parents, but others remained in holding facilities away from relatives as federal officials fell short of meeting a court-ordered deadline to reunite dozens of youngsters forcibly separated from their families at the border. (7/11)
Los Angeles Times:
Some Migrant Children Are Reunited With Parents As Trump Administration Misses Court Deadline
The Trump administration said only 38 of 102 children younger than 5 had been reunited with their parents by the Tuesday deadline set by a federal judge in San Diego. The same judge has ordered that thousands of older children should be reunited by July 26. (Hennessy-Fiske, Kim and Fawcett, 7/10)
Politico:
Judge Demands Trump Administration Meet Deadline To Reunify Dozens Of Migrant Children
U.S. District Court Judge Dana Sabraw called on the administration to join 59 separated children in that age group with their parents “today or within the immediate proximity of today.” “These are firm deadlines,” Sabraw said during a court hearing in San Diego. “They are not aspirational goals.” (Hesson and Diamond, 7/10)
Los Angeles Times:
San Diego Federal Court Begins Fast-Tracking Border-Crossing Cases. Critics Call It 'Assembly Line Justice'
A separate fast-track court designed to quickly process the steady stream of misdemeanor border-crossing cases under the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy rolled out Monday in San Diego in a hearing that was punctuated by moments of confusion, tension and passionate objection. A total of 41 unauthorized immigrants who were arrested over the weekend were seen during the initial hearing. But this was no ordinary arraignment. (Davis, 7/10)
The New York Times:
First Wave Of Migrant Children Reunited With Parents
Chris Meekins, a senior official in the Department of Health and Human Services, pointed to safety concerns to explain the delay in the reunions and insisted that the process could not be rushed. “Our process may not be as quick as some might like but there is no question that it is protecting children,” Mr. Meekins, the chief of staff of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, said in a conference call with reporters. (Dickerson and Fernandez, 7/10)
The New York Times:
As Migrant Families Are Reunited, Some Children Don’t Recognize Their Mothers
One mother had waited four months to wrap her arms around her little boy. Another had waited three months to see her little girl again. When the reunions finally happened Tuesday in Phoenix, the mothers were met with cries of rejection from their children. “He didn’t recognize me,” said Mirce Alba Lopez, 31, of her 3-year-old son, Ederson, her eyes welling up with tears. “My joy turned temporarily to sadness.” (Jordan, Benner, Nixon and Dickerson, 7/10)
Reuters:
'Imagine The Joy:' Father, Four-Year-Old Son Reunite In U.S. Immigration Crisis
With tears and smiles, Salvadoran asylum seeker Walter Armando Jimenez Melendez reunited with his 4-year-old son Jeremy on Tuesday after six weeks of anguished separation. "(I went) without knowing where he was - if he was eating, how they were treating him,” said Jimenez, 29, as he shared a meal with his child for the first time since May. “Imagine the joy I felt.” (7/10)
Los Angeles Times:
'You Don’t Love Me Anymore?': A Son Is Separated From His Father At The Border, Then Comes A Wrenching Call
On the day the government rushed to reunite dozens of families separated at the border, one immigrant father showed up to a federal appointment downtown fearful that he would be deported without his 6-year-old son. Hermelindo Che Coc came from Guatemala in late May to seek asylum with his son, Jefferson Che Pop, his attorneys said. His son was taken from him with little explanation, he said, and sent to a shelter in New York. (Bermudez, 7/10)
The Associated Press:
Test DNA Of Migrant Kids Only As Last Resort, Ethicists Say
The Trump administration's use of DNA testing to match migrant children separated from their parents is justifiable as a last resort, medical experts say, but raises a host of ethical problems. That includes the risk of damaging the family fabric by revealing that an adult thought to be the biological parent really is not. (7/10)
Politico:
How The New Face Of The Migrant Crisis Got Stuck With The Job
HHS Secretary Alex Azar, the president’s point man on Obamacare and drug prices, has reluctantly taken on a new role — public explainer and punching bag for the migrant crisis created by Donald Trump’s zero tolerance border policy. Azar — an even-keeled technocrat whom the White House enlisted as the fixer after Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen’s highly criticized press conference last month — has since been attacked by dozens of lawmakers, interrupted by protesters and pilloried on cable TV. Meanwhile, he’s working through a thicket of court orders and red tape to try to reunite thousands of migrant children in his custody with their parents, including 102 under the age of 5. It’s sapped Azar’s time and pulled his agency away from other priorities, such as lowering drug costs and helping solve the opioid epidemic. (Diamond, 7/11)
The California measure, signed in October by Gov. Jerry Brown, requires pharmaceutical companies to notify insurers and government health plans at least 60 days before planned price increases of more than 16 percent during a two-year period.
Bloomberg:
Drugmakers Cancel Price Hikes After California Law Takes Effect
A handful of the world’s biggest drugmakers are canceling or reducing planned price increases in the U.S., following a new California drug pricing transparency law and continued political pressure over pharmaceutical costs. The California law, which began to take effect earlier this year, requires drugmakers to give insurers, governments and drug purchasers advance notice of large price increases, as a way of publicly pressuring pharmaceutical companies to keep prices down. In the past three weeks, Novartis AG, Gilead Sciences Inc., Roche Holding AG and Novo Nordisk A/S sent notices to California health plans rescinding or reducing previously announced price hikes on at least 10 drugs. (Elgin, Koons and Langreth, 7/10)
“Aging of the current workforce, low rates of reimbursement, burnout, burdensome documentation requirements and restrictive regulations around sharing clinical information necessary to coordinate care are some of the reasons for the shrinkage,” a study finds.
Sacramento Bee:
California’s Shortage Of Mental Health Professionals Projected To Worsen
In 2013, California had a shortage of 336 psychiatrists, according to national projections from the Health Resources and Services Administration, cited by the state Governor’s Office. ...Statistics from The Steinberg Institute, a local nonprofit focused on issues related to mental health and founded by Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, estimate that demand for psychiatry in the United States “will outstrip supply by 15,600 psychiatrists, or 25 percent” by 2025. (Holzer, 7/11)
Cancer Mortality Rates Would Plummet More Than 20 Percent If Everyone Had Access To Quality Care
There's already a hint of this happening with the implementation of the health law and the expansion of Medicaid. When patients have access to preventive medicine and screenings, cancer can be caught earlier, improving the chance of a better outcome.
Los Angeles Times:
A Plan To Prevent More Than 1 In 5 Cancer Deaths, Without Having To Invent Any New Treatments
The nation’s cancer experts say it is possible to eliminate more than one in five cancer deaths in the U.S. even if researchers never invent another test or treatment. For this plan to work, every single American would have to take full advantage of the best medical care the country has to offer. If they were to do so, the country’s cancer mortality rate would fall by 22%, according to researchers from the American Cancer Society. (Kaplan, 7/10)
In other public health news —
Modesto Bee:
Modestan's "Guidebook" Helps Teens Fight Sometimes Dangerous Body Image Obsessions
Having a healthy attitude about your natural body type is a challenge for teenagers and adults faced with the cultural messages that favor certain shapes and standards of attractiveness. Signe Darpinian, a licensed family counselor, brought speakers to the State Theatre in March 2017 to introduce The Body Positive movement to Modesto, which urges young people and adults to value their health and natural appearance. (Carlson, 7/10)
The Mercury News:
Here’s How Fast California’s Elderly Population Is Growing And Where
California tops the nation in people 60 and older and they increased by 1.5 million in the last five years from 6.71 million in 2013 to 8.22 million in 2018. (Snibbe, 7/11)
Hate Crimes Continue To Increase In California, With More Than Half Involving Racial Bias
Experts say that the changing demographics in California and the increased presence of organized hate groups in the state have combined to drive up hate crimes in recent years.
Los Angeles Times:
Hate Crimes Rise In California For Third Straight Year, State Report Says
Hate crimes increased across California for the third straight year in 2017, an uptick experts have blamed on President Trump’s vitriolic rhetoric toward minorities and the resurgence of hate groups in the state. There were 1,093 reported hate crimes in California in 2017, a 17.4% increase, according to a report released Monday by the California attorney general’s office. Hate crimes have increased annually since 2014, jumping roughly 44% in that three-year span, records show. (Queally, 7/10)
In other news from across the state —
Modern Healthcare:
Verity Health System May Sell Hospitals To Improve Finances
Verity Health System announced Tuesday it may sell some or all of its six hospitals as it works to fix the financial and operational problems that have dogged the safety-net provider for years. The Redwood City, Calif.-based health system has undergone significant ownership changes in recent years. One year ago, Los Angeles-based health technology company NantWorks, led by controversial entrepreneur Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, announced it had acquired a majority stake in Verity's management company. (Bannow, 7/10)
The Trump administration is also directing the insurance counselors, for the first time, to help people enroll in health plans that do not comply with the consumer protection standards and other requirements of the Affordable Care Act. The move comes just days after CMS froze a program that gave money to insurers to help stabilize the marketplace.
The New York Times:
Trump Officials Slash Grants That Help Consumers Get Obamacare
The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it was slashing grants to nonprofit organizations that help people obtain health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, the latest step in an escalating attack on the law that threatens to destabilize its insurance markets. The cuts are the second round in two years. The government will provide $10 million this fall, down from $36 million last autumn and $63 million in late 2016 — a total reduction of more than 80 percent. (Pear, 7/10)
Reuters:
Trump Administration Cuts Grants To Help People Get Obamacare
Under the latest cuts, so-called navigators who sign up Americans for the ACA, also known as Obamacare, will get $10 million for the year starting in November, down from $36.8 million in the previous year, according to a statement by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This follows a reduction announced by the CMS last August from $62.5 million, along with an even bigger cut to advertising for enrollment, and represents the latest in a series of moves to weaken the ACA by the administration of President Donald Trump. (7/10)
The Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Slashes Funds For ACA Outreach
Groups applying for funds will also be encouraged to provide enrollment assistance for the new plans that don’t comply with the ACA, a further weakening of administration support for the Obama-era health law. The administration argues that organizations getting the funding have often failed to reach enrollment goals. Democrats and advocates of the ACA, however, say the cuts are an attempt by the administration to gut a program that is essential to ensuring robust sign-ups during open enrollment, which begins in November. (Armour, 7/10)
The Washington Post:
Administration Slashes Grants To Help Americans Get Affordable Care Act Coverage
Since Congress was unable to pass such legislation, Trump and his aides have been taking steps to weaken the law through administrative maneuvers. The cuts to grass-roots groups around the country were announced three days after health officials revealed that, because of a pending lawsuit, they were suspending a program created by the law to even out the burden on health insurers whose customers are especially unhealthy or sick. (Goldstein, 7/10)
In states where the upcoming battle over Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court could help Senate Republican candidates, it could also hurt the party's chances in the House. Unlike in the upper chamber, where the vulnerable seats are mostly Democrats in red-state districts, the fight for control of the House is taking place in swing-districts across the country.
The Associated Press:
Emotions High As Kavanaugh Begins Fight For Confirmation
Conservative Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh plunged into his confirmation battle Tuesday, meeting face-to-face with Senate leaders in what promises to be an intense debate over abortion rights, presidential power and other legal disputes that could reshape the court and roil this fall's elections. (7/10)
The New York Times:
Who Might The Court Fight Help In The Midterms? Democrats. And Republicans.
Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court could very well help Republicans hold or expand their control of the Senate. It could also hurt their efforts to maintain control of the House. That political oddity illustrates the complexities of this midterm election season, which is actually two very different midterms. One is the fight for the Senate, where Democrats are defending the seats of 10 incumbents in states won by President Trump, and the other is the contest for the House, where Republicans are defending a vast and expanding battleground that is every bit as forbidding, with nearly 60 Republican seats in play. (Hulse, 7/10)
The New York Times:
For Midterms, Supreme Court Political Drama Plays To Its Audience
Joe Donnelly knew his audience: Addressing a group of camouflage-clad union mine workers and retirees here last weekend, the Democratic senator trumpeted his efforts to protect their pensions and health care, asked attendees to raise their hands if they knew someone with a pre-existing health condition, and made not a single mention of the upcoming Supreme Court vote that could determine his political fate in November. (Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns, 7/11)
The New York Times:
Senate Democrats Come Out Swinging In Long-Shot Fight To Block Kavanaugh
Senate Democrats, facing an uphill struggle to defeat the nomination of Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, opened a broad attack on Tuesday, painting him as an archconservative who would roll back abortion rights, undo health care protections, ease gun restrictions and protect President Trump against the threat of indictment. (Stolberg, Landler and Kaplan, 7/10)
The Associated Press:
Analysis: Dems Meet Supreme Court Pick With Mixed Message
Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, says it's all about health care. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., worries about the impact on the special counsel investigation. And Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., sees an assault that could set women's rights back decades. There's so much for Democrats to dislike about Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump's Supreme Court pick. And that may be the problem. (7/11)
Ten Democrats face re-election this year in states that President Donald Trump won in 2016, and four of those battlegrounds lean against abortion rights. So instead of making abortion their key issue in the Supreme Court nomination fight, Democratic leadership is focusing on the broader threat to health care access in general. Meanwhile, outlets take a look at where Brett Kavanaugh stands on various other health care issues.
The Hill:
Dems Strategy On Trump Pick: Unify Around Health Care
The liberal base is fired up about abortion rights, but Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) will seek to emphasize access to affordable health care as much as Roe v. Wade in the battle over the Supreme Court. In sharp contrast to the Obama era, Schumer thinks health care is the Democrats’ best weapon. By putting the charged issue of women’s reproductive rights within the broader framework of access to health care, the matter is likely to be less polarizing in red states. (Bolton, 7/9)
Los Angeles Times:
Democrats Hope Obamacare Fears Will Derail Kavanaugh As White House Moves To Soften His Image
[T]o hold onto Democrats representing conservative states won by Trump, Democrats are increasingly talking about how Kavanaugh might shift the balance on President Obama’s healthcare law, a unifying issue that tends to poll well. And so far it seems to be working on vulnerable Democrats in red states. Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia — who last year voted for Trump’s first Supreme Court selection — immediately picked up on the talking point, saying that he would consider the “nearly 800,000 West Virginians with preexisting conditions” when making his confirmation vote. Though Manchin promised to keep an open mind, the statement suggested a willingness to vote against the nomination, bucking Trump, who is popular in his state. (Wire and Bierman, 7/10)
Modern Healthcare:
Kavanaugh Pick Could Affect Future Of Obamacare, Medicaid Work Requirements
A number of important healthcare cases could make their way to the high court in the coming years, and Kavanaugh's vote could swing those decisions. They include a new Republican challenge to the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act; a patient lawsuit against Medicaid work requirements; challenges to the Trump administration's cuts of ACA risk-corridor, risk-adjustment, and cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers; and lawsuits by Medicaid patients seeking the right to see the provider of their choice. (Meyer, 7/`10)
Stat:
Brett Kavanaugh Has Left Trail Of Opinions On Health Care And Pharma Issues
Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, has left a trail of rulings and opinions concerning the Food and Drug Administration, pharmaceutical companies, and medical device manufacturers in his dozen years on the District of Columbia circuit court. At one point, Kavanaugh urged judges to defer to the FDA and other scientific agencies, largely on the grounds that courts could not compete with the agencies’ expertise. He also sided with the FDA in a case over whether the agency should be forced to provide access to an unapproved drug. (Facher, 7/10)
The New York Times:
Brett Kavanaugh On The Issues: Abortion, Guns, Climate And More
On issues as diverse as abortion and gun rights to disputes over national-security policies and business regulations, Judge Kavanaugh emphasized textual limitations while frequently favoring corporations over regulators, and the government over individuals claiming rights violations. With a few exceptions, his pattern is typically conservative. To be sure, Judge Kavanaugh’s history on the bench is not a perfect guide to the approach he would pursue if confirmed to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, for whom he once clerked. Appeals court judges are bound to obey Supreme Court precedent, but justices are free to vote to overturn past rulings. (Savage, 7/10)
Reuters:
Trump High Court Pick Kavanaugh May Face Contentious Cases Soon
President Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee may not have to wait too long for controversial cases if he is confirmed to the job, with disputes involving abortion, immigration, gay rights, voting rights and transgender troops possibly heading toward the justices soon. Republicans are hoping Brett Kavanaugh, the conservative U.S. appeals court judge selected on Monday by Trump to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, will be confirmed by the Senate before the next Supreme Court term opens in October. (7/10)
KQED:
How Would A Supreme Court Reversal On Roe V. Wade Affect California?
Supporters of reproductive rights have been fearful -- and abortion opponents have been hopeful -- that any Trump nominee would work with the court's other conservative justices to overturn Roe v. Wade. That landmark 1973 decision legalized abortion across the country. But in legal terms, a Roe reversal would merely push the decision back to the states. (Feibel, 7/10)
The Washington Post:
Pence: I Want Roe V. Wade Overturned, ‘But I Haven’t Been Nominated For The Supreme Court’
Vice President Pence said Tuesday that while he would personally like to see the Supreme Court one day overturn its landmark 1973 ruling legalizing abortion, neither he nor President Trump has discussed the issue with Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett M. Kavanaugh. Asked by CNN’s Dana Bash whether he wants to see Roe v. Wade overturned, Pence replied, “I do, but I haven’t been nominated for the Supreme Court.” “I stand for the sanctity of life,” Pence added. “This administration, this president are pro-life, but what the American people ought to know is that, as the president said today, this is not an issue that he discussed with Judge Kavanaugh.” (Sonmez, 7/10)
Nominee For VA Secretary Chief Sails Through Committee And Is Headed For Full Senate Confirmation
Robert Wilkie was grilled during his confirmation hearing about whether he will seek to privatize the troubled Veterans Affairs Department. He promised that he won't. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was the only lawmaker on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee to vote against Wilkie.
The Associated Press:
Senate Panel OKs Trump's Pick To Lead Troubled VA
A Senate panel voted Tuesday to approve President Donald Trump's nominee to lead Veterans Affairs, a department beset by political infighting and turmoil over providing health care. The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee agreed on voice vote to back Robert Wilkie, currently serving as a Pentagon undersecretary. Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont cast a "no" vote. (7/10)
In other veterans health care news —
The Hill:
FDA Approves Freeze-Dried Blood Plasma For Troops In Combat
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday approved freeze-dried blood plasma for use to treat combat injuries from U.S. troops, after a dispute over whether access would be allowed. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) last year tried to go around the FDA by granting the Department of Defense the ability to allow the freeze-dried plasma use. (Sullivan, 7/10)
Pfizer To Temporarily Roll Back Drug Price Increases Following Talk With Trump
The company came under fire from President Donald Trump and others when it announced steep price hikes on many of their drugs. “Pfizer & others should be ashamed that they have raised drug prices for no reason,” Trump said in a tweet prior to the company's about-face. “They are merely taking advantage of the poor & others unable to defend themselves, while at the same time giving bargain basement prices to other countries in Europe & elsewhere. We will respond!”
Reuters:
Pfizer Delays Drug Price Hikes After Talking With Trump
Pfizer Inc said on Tuesday it was deferring drug price increases for no more than six months after the company's chief executive officer had an extensive conversation with U.S. President Donald Trump. The rollback came a day after Trump took aim at Pfizer and other U.S. drugmakers for raising prices on some of their medicines, saying in a tweet that they "should be ashamed" and that his administration would respond. (7/10)
The Wall Street Journal:
Pfizer To Roll Back Price Increases After Trump Criticism
“The company will return these prices to their pre-July 1 levels as soon as technically possible,” Pfizer said in a statement. It said the restored levels will remain in effect until the president had a chance to put his plan to curb high drug prices or the end of the year, whichever is earlier. The statement quoted Mr. Read offering support for Mr. Trump. “Pfizer shares the President’s concern for patients and commitment to providing affordable access to the medicines they need,” he said. (Rockoff, 7/10)